“They brought in a couple veteran guys like myself and Will Johnson, guys who have been around and been around successful teams and been in successful locker rooms and kind of know what it takes to win in this league. So it sounds to me like this year is all about bringing those pieces together and winning.”

“It’s finding a balance and it’s figuring out a way to win as a team that’s going to be a challenge,” said Johnson, a versatile, six-year veteran midfielder prize from RSL in return for allocation money. “There’s no doubt the talent on that roster is there, but talent is such a small part of winning in MLS games. It’s hardly even worth talking about. It’s more about teamwork and hard work and those kinds of things, those things get you results in MLS.”

Harrington, a fullback who has spent his six years in MLS with KC, echoed Johnson’s assessment.

“That’s one those things I’ve learned being in this league, it’s not all about talent,” Harrington said. “It’s about more than that. It’s about the intangibles and bringing a certain mentality to work every day, not just in games but in training.”

Johnson said the ability to win on the road, something Portland has done just three times in their first two seasons in MLS, is the perfect trait of a hard-working team. SKC and RSL combined for 14 road wins last season.

“I think you need guys who are willing to roll up their sleeves a little bit and go on the road and know they’re not going to enjoy it as much as playing at JELD-WEN, but know it’s equally important to get results on the road as it is at home,” Johnson said. “It’s a very, very difficult challenge to go on the road and win in this league, no matter what the talent or the quality level of your team is. But it can be done, and it just involves a unique mentality, one that can be learned by experience of winning road games in this league.”